dominic hughes, bbc news.chief medical officers have defended the covid vaccination plan, after criticism from a doctors' union. people will receive the two doses of the oxford and pfizer vaccines 12 weeks apart, although initially it was planned to leave 21 days between the pfizerjabs. the british medical association said cancelling patients booked in for their second doses was "grossly unfair". the government says they've delivered a million doses of the vaccine, but some are concerned about the speed of roll—out. our health correspondent jim reed has more. it's the great hope to end this pandemic and return life to something like normal. more than i million people in the uk have now received the first dose of this vaccine made by the drugs companies pfizer and biontech. the injection needs to be given in two doses. originally, those were meant to be three weeks apart. now doctors are being told to delay those second appointments and rebook, leaving a longer, 12 week gap. the union representing doctors and s

dominic hughes, bbc news. professor axel gandy in the report from dominic hughes — he helped author the study on the new variant. i asked him how much faster it moves through the population than the original form of the virus. let me first say that the analysis we are talking about is an update of an early analysis that was fed into government policy over the last few weeks. epidemiologists, geneticists and public health england to get the data together and get this analysis done very rapidly. at the moment these are still early days result. we have only been doing this kind of analysis now for the last few weeks. but in terms of how more rapidly it spreads, we estimate the r number, the reproduction number, the number of people infected per infected individual increases by about 0.4 to 0.7. based on the situation from november roughly where the lockdown was in place, to put these numbers into perspective as it... if we would assume through the lockdown was the article was below run and the virus was decreasin

dominic hughes, bbc news. that new study released by imperial college london, which has found that the average number of people that someone with the covid—i9 variant can infect is far higher than the original strain, and is affecting more people under 20. professor emma thomson is working on the sequencing of this covid mutation. she told us what we still don't know about the virus. there are some key questions about the variant. the first thing that we fully understand now is that this new variant is transmitting more rapidly across the uk. the percentage of cases now being caused by this new variant are starting to dominate all the other variants that are in circulation. it's problematic because it transmitting more. there are two other questions that we are in the process of trying to answer at the moment, one is whether not the new variant causes more severe illness and also where there are not its compromises immunity in any way, particularly immunity from vaccines. but there is no sign of any problem at

dominic hughes, bbc news.rested on suspicion of murder, after two men died at a property in east london. police were called to an address in ilford, to reports of a disturbance. two men were found seriously injured inside the property, and both died at the scene. shoppers in northern ireland have been facing bare shelves at some supermarkets since the ist of january, following the uk's trade separation from the eu after brexit. the new arrangements now mean it's become more complicated for businesses to ship food over the irish sea from britain, and some lorryloads have faced delays. the government says traders and hauliers need to make sure they are complying with the new border rules. here's our ireland correspondent emma va rdy. january may be the time some of us want to consume a little less, but shoppers in northern ireland have found the shelves noticeably bare. i was in tesco, and there was lots of empty shelves today. it was mostly the frozen food as well. i was looking for, like, fish and stuff, and i

dominic hughes, bbc news.dical officer for england — will be on bbc breakfast and the today programme tomorrow morning and he'll also be taking the audience's questions on 5live and the bbc news channel at 8:30. it's emerged that building owners are being asked to sign a "gagging clause", when they apply to a government fund for the removal of dangerous cladding. part of the contract they're asked to sign requires them not to communicate with journalists, without government permission. campaigners say there should be scrutiny where the government says the agreements are standard commercial ones. our home affairs correspondent tom symondsjoins me now. tom, campaigners unhappy... very unhappy. this is for applications to a government fund, £1.6 billion fund set up to speed the removal of the dangerous cladding. the applications are from building owners and sometimes building owners and sometimes building managers, including residents who run their own buildings. what the contract says is any buildings. what the

dominic hughes, bbc news.hip has meant an end to free movement of people between the uk and europe. in 2019, before covid, british travellers made more than 66 million european trips our correspondent anna holligan is in amsterdam's schiphol airport this morning. she's been finding out how things are changing there. this time last year, if you wanted to spontaneously catch a flight to spend the new year in amsterdam, you could have done. this year, if you are in the uk, you can't. and that's because of a combination of brexit and covid—i9. travelling from non—eu nations into the eu is currently restricted to limit the spread of the virus. that means uk citizens shouldn't be coming here unless it is essential. so passengers arriving here at the airport must bring proof of a negative covid—i9 test taken within 72 hours of landing. this dutch departures hall is actually much quieter than usual and it's a similar picture right across the continent. passport—wise, existing uk passports will be valid, as long as the

dominic hughes, bbc news. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh is with me.hape of new drugs that can help save more lives? absolutely, sophie, we already have one drug, dexamethasone, a steroid which in trials was shown to cut the risk of dying among the most severely by a third. tonight, i can tell you we have two more drugs that are normally used for rheumatoid arthritis, and they cut the risk of dying by around a quarter. they are given via a drip and they dampen the immune response, which can go into overdrive with covid and they were found to save in trials, partly conducted in the nhs, to save one life for every 12 covid patients treated in intensive care, and they also speed up recovery, cutting the amount of time that patients spend in icy you —— in intensive care by a week. the health secretary says supplies of the drugs are available and they will begin being used intensive care immediately. add to that the roll—out of the vaccine and i think we have to cling onto the hope that science and medicine will eventually get us through this. fergus walsh,

dominic hughes, bbc news. way police have been handing out fines for people who've allegedly breached the rules, saying there is a "need for strong enforcement". priti patel said the number of cases and deaths recorded last week means that officers are right to stop giving repeated warnings to repeat offenders. the online supermarket, 0cado, has warned there could be shortages of some products over the next few weeks because of staff problems in its supply chain. 0cado says the number of workers off sick or self—isolating because of covid means that some food producers are reducing the number of products they offer. the online retailer warned that supply chain issues could lead to a higher number of substitutions as well as missing items on customer orders. professor chris whitty, england's chief medical officer, will be taking your coronavirus questions in a special edition of your questions answered on the bbc news channel and bbc radio 5 live tomorrow morning at 8.30. you can get in touch via your questions

dominic hughes, bbc news.ted to overturn president donald trump's veto of a $740 billion defence bill. senators convened for a rare new year's day session to vote on a bill they had previously passed. president trump then vetoed the bill, saying he wanted certain protections for social media companies removed from the bill, and also objected to clauses allowing the renaming of military bases which honour confederate leaders. just in the last hour, the senate voted 81—13 to override trump's veto two days before a new us congress is sworn into office on sunday. the uk health secretary has defended the british government's u—turn to keep all schools shut after the christmas holidays until the 18th of january. matt hancock said: schools in ten boroughs were due to open on monday, despite having higher rates of infection than other areas. the education secretary, gavin williamson, said moving to remote learning was a "last resort". labour say the government is ‘creating chaos' days before the start of team. danny t

dominic hughes, bbc news.sts coronavirus infection rates in the community in england didn't fall, and may in fact have risen, at the start of the current lockdown. but ministers say the research from imperial college london doesn't take into account the full impact of the lockdown. 0ur health correspondent katharine da costa has the details. worrying findings from scientists tracking the spread of coronavirus. even with a national lockdown in england, new infections remain high, and instead of coming down may well have slightly increased in some areas. researchers from imperial college looked at swab results from a random sample of more than 140,000 volunteers between the 6th and 15th of january. they found 1.58% had the virus, that's about one in 63 people. rising to 2.8% in london. i think it is quite a complex picture. we did see a little bit of a dip at the beginning of the lockdown but now we see essentially a level with an r of around one. but we are not seeing that fall that we really need to see from t

dominic hughes, bbc news. should have, for many, been the first week of term. 0nly nurseries remain open, except in scotland. and today it was confirmed that this summer's a levels and gcse exams are being cancelled in england. 0ur education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. empty classrooms again. most children back at home. yes, we have the zoom session. but for teachers in school, planning online lessons, learning packs for pupils... like... i don't really... i was quite shocked at how involved, you know what i mean? angela cannot believe it's happening again. she works an hour a day as a dinner lady. now she will have a daughter learning at home. that's if i can get her to focus for five minutes. and then into the minutes ticked by, she's gone, watching a video, i've had to sit with her because she's looking around, are you not? spinning around, standing on her head, and then when it comes to answering the questions to the video, she has no clue. schools have spent the day working out how to help families.

dominic hughes, bbc news.remain closed for the start of the new term, after the uk government bowed to pressure from councils. schools in ten areas were due to open on monday after the christmas break, despite having higher rates of infection than other areas where learning would be remote. the education secretary, gavin williamson, said the move was a "last resort". the health secretary matt hancock has said: 0ur education correspondent dan johnson has been giving us the details behind the move. well, this announcement dates back all the way to last year. actually, only two days that the government said from monday, primary schools in most of london and some of the surrounding areas— essex, kent — needed to close for two weeks, that primary school children wouldn't be able to go in on monday. but not all the london boroughs — ten were left out, and it wasn't even consistent in terms of which ones. it was a bit of a patchwork the government painted across the capital, and there wasn't even any sense between wh

dominic hughes, bbc news.nt figures show there were 60,916 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that's the first time since the pandemic started that the daily total has risen above 60,000. but testing is more widely available now compared to the first peak in the spring. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 55,945. 830 deaths were reported of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average in the past week 677 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 76,305. 0nce once again, hugh pym is with me, our health editor. what are you drawing from these figures? what would you guide viewers towards? as well as the official figures guide viewers towards? as well as the officialfigures some guide viewers towards? as well as the official figures some bleak numbers were set out at the downing street briefing. first of all the uk case rate per 100,000 people up 70% in two w

dominic hughes, bbc news. 0ur medical editor is with me now. we have a high death toll today.ew days and weeks alone. the next few weeks will be critical. it is this race now between getting people vaccinated and the spread of this more contagious form of virus. 0ver 1000 vaccination centres in england alone should be set up by the end of the week. there have been some wrinkles. it is only four days since the oxford astrazeneca vaccine began being rolled out but it is a really ambitious target to try and get those four big priority groups done in the next six weeks. it will involve more than 2 million immunisations a week. there has been good news today. we have two new life—saving drugs which cut the rate of deaths by one quarter. they are both infusions given by drip and trials involving nhs patients showed that for every 12 patients treated, they saved one life. they will also cut the time needed in intensive ca re by cut the time needed in intensive care by one week. thank you. in other news... up to 4 million home owners in england could benefit from government plans to r

dominic hughes, bbc news.dreds of fines last night on new year's eve for breaching coronavirus rules. several forces handed out the maximum penalty of £10,000 to organisers of large unauthorised events. breaches were also reported in wales, scotland and northern ireland. sarah campbell's report contains flashing images. the message to stay at home had been clear and unambiguous, and some chose to ignore it as they welcomed in 2021. in edinburgh, a lone piper replaced the traditional street party and the fireworks were cancelled, but that didn't deter revellers who wanted to celebrate hogmanay together. in london, a midnight fireworks display was kept secret in the hope that people would stay away from the capital. numbers were down, but flare—ups in tourist areas like piccadilly circus kept the police busy throughout the night. we've had sporadic gatherings of people who just won't take note of what's being said and my colleagues have dealt with that very quickly last night. we didn't have large music events t

dominic hughes, bbc news. covid—19 vaccines are being rolled out around the world.have already received their first shot, but it's not being distributed evenly across the globe. some vaccine programmes are racing ahead. at the top of the list is israel, which expects to have vaccinated over 10% of its citizens by the end of this week. china has been able to vaccinate around 11.5 million people. meanwhile, many vaccination programmes in africa will not even start until the middle of the year. and the covax scheme, a who vaccine initiative, aims to protect 20% of the populations from 92 low and middle income countries by the end of 2021. in the us, health authorities have missed their goal to vaccinate 20 million people by the end of 2020. the vaccine roll—out plan has been criticised for being "slow and disorgansied". drew armstrong of bloomberg news is compiling a vaccine tracker for the whole of the united states, and he explained what has gone wrong with the roll—out. after the warp speed development of these vaccines, which i think the united states deserve quite

dominic hughes, bbc news. our top story this evening: cracking down on those flouting covid rules.ter what appeared to be several coronavirus breaches at matches this weekend, all eyes are on the premier league tonight as clubs come under increased pressure to make sure players are sticking to restrictions. coming up on sportsday on bbc news: sport continues to distance itself from us president donald trump, as former supporter bill belichick, coach of the new england patriots, says he will not accept the medal of freedom from him. for much of the last century so—called mother and baby homes in ireland took in unmarried pregnant women. many were run by the catholic church. today a devastating report revealed that around 9,000 children died over eight decades, in more than a dozen homes. around 15% of all children born there. at one home in tuam in county galway, nearly eight hundred children died and it's thought many of them are buried in a sewage system. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page has been hearing the story of a man who was born there. the only thing that i can remember

dominic hughes, bbc news.accination plan, after criticism from a doctors‘ union. people will receive the two doses of the oxford and pfizer vaccines 12 weeks apart, although initially the plan was to leave 21 days between the pfizerjabs. the british medical association said cancelling patients booked in for their second doses was "grossly unfair". the government says it's delivered a million doses of the vaccine but some are concerned about the speed of the roll—out. 0ur health correspondent jim reed has more. sara nathan's mother, mary, is in a nursing home. she is due the second dose of her covid vaccination next week. that is now in doubt. we were hoping that we could actually relax with her. she's 89. she may have that much longer. we want to notjust have to see her in the park, to be able to see her inside as well — it's cold! if she had had both vaccines, then we would be able to think, "yeah, 0k, mum, we can get on with looking after you in the way you ought to be looked after, and not worrying that you

dominic hughes, bbc news. show that their products are not linked to forced labour camps where uighurs and other minorities are being held. china's ambassador to the un has called britain's criticism of beijing's treatment of its uighur minority a baseless political attack. 0ur correspondentjohn sudworth is in beijing for us tonight. how significant is this? well, this was an extraordinary statement from dominic rav, describing what is happening in xinjiang as torture and as you say, for the first time, outing these fines for uk companies that don't show they are doing enough to sever their ties with that region. it is already being met with a furious response from china. 0ne official described it as baseless and it may well become to be seen here as the moment when the so—called golden era, launched just a few short years ago by david cameron, finally came to an end. china's critics will say it may not go far enough. there was no announcement from the uk foreign secretary of sanctions on chinese officials res

dominic hughes, bbc news.d's chief medical officer will be taking your coronavirus questions in a special edition of your questions answered on the bbc news channel and bbc radio 5 live tomorrow morning at 8:30. you can get in touch via your questions at bbc.co.uk or via twitter with the hashtag #bbcyourquestions. in other news, shoppers in northern ireland have been facing bare shelves at some supermarkets since ist january, following the uk's trade separation from the eu after brexit. the new arrangements now mean it's become more complicated for businesses to ship food over the irish sea from britain, and some lorry loads have faced delays. the government says traders and hauliers need to make sure they are complying with the new border rules. here's our ireland correspondent, emma va rdy. january may be the time some of us want to consume a little less, but shoppers in northern ireland have found the shelves noticeably bare. i was in tesco, and there was lots of empty shelves today. it was mostly the froze

dominic hughes, bbc news.estone in the coronavirus pandemic, recording more than 20 million cases. that's more than any other country in the world. according to the latest figures from johns hopkins university, there are now 20,007,119 cases of coronavirus in the us. 346,408 people have lost their lives during the pandemic. on wednesday alone, more than 3,900 people died of covid—i9 in the us, a new daily record. earlier, i spoke to drjames mcdeavitt, senior vice president and dean of clinical affairs at baylor college of medicine in houston, texas. he said the situation was grim. this year's feeling a whole lot like last year, unfortunately, but 20 million is a big number. almost 4000 dead two days ago, that is as many people as died from heart disease and cancer in a single day, so we're still very much in the thick of this pandemic. is anything going in the right direction? we of course are all focusing on the vaccine, but that light at the end of the tunnel is still some way off. well, there's some positiv

dominic hughes, bbc news.dical officer will be taking your coronavirus questions in a special edition of your questions answered on the bbc news channel and bbc radio 5 live tomorrow morning at 8:30. you can get in touch via your questions at bbc.co.uk or via twitter with the hashtag bbcyourquestions. a 28—year—old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after two men died at a property in east london. police were called to an address in ilford, to reports of a disturbance. two men were found seriously injured inside the property, and both died at the scene. 0ur correspondent lisa hampele sent this update from the scene. the house here has been cordoned off, as you can see, and forensic teams have been here since early this morning. it was at about 4:30am this morning that police and paramedics were called. they were called because of a disturbance and when they got here they found two men had been seriously injured and they died here at the scene. we were told that police and paramedics tried to do al

dominic hughes, bbc news. police have been handing out fines for people who've allegedly breached the rules, saying there is a "need for strong enforcement". priti patel said the number of cases and deaths recorded last week means that officers are right to stop giving repeated warnings to repeat offenders. earlier, professor susan michie — health psychologist at university college london, and a member of spi—b, the behavioural advisory group of sage — explained the issues with getting people to obey the guidelines. i think we have to look at what is the nature of the rules and what are the nature of the restrictions. this is very different than march. the current restrictions allow non—essential tradespeople, cleaners, nannies, estate agents to go in and out of each other‘s houses. they allow mass gatherings in terms of places of worship, nurseries being open, all sorts of non—essential things like heritage sites, garden centres, etc. and this all means there is many more people on public transport and so the

dominic hughes, bbc news.ospital, has been speaking to bbc radio 5 live about the situation in hospitals — and how this current wave of coronavirus infection is different to the last. yeah, it's very different. i think that's what makes it so much scarier for us as nurses and doctors and porters and health care assistance and everyone else assistants and everyone else who is working on the front line. we have children who are coming in. it was minimally affecting children in the first wave. we have a whole ward of children here. and i know that some of my colleagues are in the same position where they have whole wards of children with covid. 20 and 30—year—olds with no underlying health conditions. you know, it's people that also aren't aware of how sick they are. so, they will come into a&e with difficulty breathing thinking that maybe they've contracted covid and you check their observations and they are in a lot worse position than the even realise. and you just look at some people and because of how low th

dominic hughes, bbc news.verage of the latest downing street coronavirus briefing, led by the prime minister and accompanied by nhs ceo simon stevens and brigadier phil prosser. presumably there to talk about the logistics of rolling out the vaccine programme. that's at 5:00pm on bbc one and the bbc news channel. the home secretary priti patel has said it's right that police ‘act robustly‘ to enforce the new coronavirus lockdown. police leaders have this morning been explaining how the new restrictions will be monitored, under the principles of ‘engage, explain, encourage and enforce'. martin hewitt, chair of the national police chiefs' council, said the priority was stopping the transmission of the virus. whilst we will still be our adopting our approach of four es. we will still engage with people, explain and we will encourage. we are going to move more quickly to enforcement where people are blatantly breaching the rules. the rules now are very, very clear. similar to where we were back in the spring of la

dominic hughes, bbc news. mike adams is the directorfor england of the royal college of nursing.are coping with this, especially this difficult strain which we have now. is not an underestimation to say that our members are in real dire straits, and really feeling the pressure. and it's a bleak picture. for them personally and emotionally, but obviously for the people that they are trying to give the best ca re they are trying to give the best care for as well. a system that's under incredible pressure. you report there highlighted tragically the care that people trying to deliver in the circumstances they are working under. and i think we all saw there that the emotion the nursing staff are working with. we saw one nurse there herself become the patient. especially taking such a difficult and huge toll on your members, both mentally and physically when it comes to doing thejob. and how much more can they take, and how close are we to a possible situation or we will have ambulances queuing outside hospitals because of that we've artie seen that this winter and unfortunately we se

our health correspondent dominic hughes reports.th—east. a surge in seriously ill covid patients means staff are being pushed to the limit. what we're having to now do is stretch those ratios, so one intensive care nurse is finding themselves looking after two, three. in some cases at the peak, they were looking after four or five patients at a time and that puts a phenomenal amount of stress on the team. it's not just rising patient numbers. staff themselves are falling ill, meaning resources are getting stretched. everybody's reporting a lot of pressure, everybody is saying that it's really difficult to off—load ambulances, because our departments are full, because, in turn, our hospitals are full. it's very frustrating because you can't look after patients in the way that you want to and you feel helpless when you know there is a sick patient in an ambulance which you just can't get into a department, because there isn't space. intensive care beds are a real pinch point. already, some patients have been moved from kent to bristol

our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. it mi be a new year, but there is no let up on hospitals in london and the soast. a surge in seriously ill covid patients and staff is being pushed to the limit. intensive care beds are a real besh point. some patients arg moved from kent where there is more capacity. it showsur prethat they are working under. >> if the number of cases do not begin to reduce fairly soon, and reduce sharply, we will be in a situation where the health caren astructure, not just in london, but across the entire country, is overwhelmed. correspondent: and is not just themselves are falling ill.ff resources are being stretched. >> everyone is reporting a lot ofur pressand send it is difficult. our hospitals are full and it is frustrating because you cannot look after patients in the way you feel helpless when you note that there ick patient in the ambulance you cannot get into the department because there is not space. correspondent: in order t provide relief, the nightingale hospital in london is being re

our health correspondent dominic hughes has more.ccinations against the coronavirus. but the target of reaching 13 million of the most vulnerable by mid—february, is going to be tough to hit. unlike the pfizer vaccine, which needs to be stored at ultra—low temperatures, the oxford jab can be kept in regularfridges that every gp surgery has. it's also much easier to move, and so better suited for use in care homes and for those who can't leave the house. gps say they're ready to start administering the jab, despite some frustrations over supply. i just think we need some explanations. why has there been this hold—up? why are some practices getting it, and others — like mine — not being given the vaccine? why doesn't someone tell us what is going on? in england, seven big vaccination centres are opening. over the next week, jabs will become available in more than 200 gp surgeries and hospitals, as well as through a pilot scheme involving local pharmacies. amid the grim news of rising infections, the pressures on hospitals, and a growin

dominic hughes, bbc news. day on record yesterday — with some crews waiting more than five hours to hand over patients at hospital emergency departments struggling to cope with an influx of coronavirus cases. the service dealt with 5,383 calls in 2a hours. a medic who worked at the queen elizabeth hospital in birmingham said a&e was "full of heartbreaking stories". he said at 6am on tuesday morning, ambulances were still responding to emergency calls from the night before. while the country is struggling to come to terms with this new lockdown many families are having to cope with the death of a relative because of the pandemic. unexpected loss and daily grief is the real cost of this crisis. jon kay has been hearing from two people who've lost people they loved in the past month. i'd been with rob for 25 years. we met through a lonely hearts club. colin lost his partner rob just before christmas. covid caused blood clots on his lungs. he was 56. rob was a very fun—loving person. # and we could be together bab

dominic hughes, bbc news. simon:.s.ators have voted to overturn president trump's veto of a $740 billion defense bill. these are the scenes live after year's day session to vote on a bill they previously passed. president trumphen vetoed the bill, saying he wanted certain protections for social media companies removed from the bill and also objected to clauses allowing the renaming of military bases which honor nfederate leaders. the senate voted 81-13 to override the veto, twoays before a new u.s. congress is sworn into office on this sunday. the u.k. health secretahe has defendedritish government's u-turnke to all schools shut after the christmas holidays until january 18. priority is to ke as manyhe children as possible in school, we have to strike a balance between education and the infection rates and pressures on the nhs. schools in 10 boroughs were due to start on monday. the education secretary said moving to remote learning was a last resort. labour sissy government is creating day off days before the start of

our health correspondent dominic hughes reports.et—up in the pressure on hospitals in london and the south east. a surge in seriously ill covid patients means staff are being pushed to the limit. intensive care beds are a real pinch point. some patients are being moved from kent to bristol and plymouth, where there's spare capacity. that in itself is not unheard of, but doctors say it shows the pressures they're working under. if the number of cases don't begin to reduce fairly soon — and, indeed, reduce sharply — we would be in a situation where the health care infrastructure — notjust in london, but across the entire country — is overwhelmed. and it's not just rising patient numbers. staff themselves are falling ill, meaning resources are getting stretched. everybody‘s reporting a lot of pressure. everybody is saying that it's really difficult to off—load ambulances because our departments are full because, in turn, our hospitals are full. it's very frustrating because you can't look after patients in the way you want to, and you

dominic hughes, bbc news. christoph. rivers reached record high levels in parts of greater manchester and north wales. there are more than 190 flood warnings in place, four of them severe. andy moore reports. storm christoph started with strong winds and heavy rain but now temperatures are falling. many places are dealing with a difficult combination of rising water levels and falling snow. at didsbury, near manchester, the river mersey rose to record levels. we've been told to evacuate. however, during corona, where do you evacuate to? you don't want to impose yourself on other people. so, we're trying to hold on as long as we can and hopefully it will pass. it's risen slightly higher than its previous high so... but, clearly, at the moment, it's holding good, it's holding firm. we've been here in melington avenue - 33 years and we've never had it. quite as bad as this. and more alarming even when the river got to a record level. | this was a picturesque, but fortunately empty, cottage at chorley in lancashir

dominic hughes reports. but over the next fortnight, many more community pharmacies should join them. we're delighted that pharmacy teams, who have been on the health service front line throughout the pandemic, are joining this great national effort to defeat the virus. they are, as you know, in the community, and very convenient, so it's a really proud moment for community pharmacy and a moment of hope for all of us, really. the roll—out of the two coronavirus vaccines is accelerating. the jab will soon be available at around 2,700 sites across the uk. as well as hospitals, gp surgeries and the big vaccination hubs that came into operation on monday, around 200 community pharmacies should come online in the next two weeks, with more to follow. you need to receive a letter inviting you to make an appointment for a jab. people are being asked not to turn up without an appointment, but high street pharmacists are experienced in regularly administering annual flu jabs, and they will be needed if the government

that report from hugh pym, camera journalist harriet bradshaw and producer dominic hurst.e uk by one measure. the office for national statistics says the figures, which go up to 15 january, are based on death certificates that mention coronavirus. dominic hughes reports. jonathan is on the long, hard road to recovery, physically and emotionally. a front line health care worker, he fell ill with covid—19 in october last year. not just him, but members of his closest family as well. i just him, but members of his closest family as well-— family as well. i went into hospital on the 18th — family as well. i went into hospital on the 18th of _ family as well. i went into hospital on the 18th of october _ family as well. i went into hospital on the 18th of october and - family as well. i went into hospital on the 18th of october and my - family as well. i went into hospital - on the 18th of october and my mother was admitted in the early hours of the 20th of october and by sister was admitted to antrim hospital because the other side was very busy and she was admitted in the aft

dominic hughes, bbc news.s that began during the first lockdown is to return tonight, under the new name of clap for heroes. it's aimed at recognising carers, teachers, home schooling parents, and all frontline workers. the idea of clapping and banging pots from doorsteps originally began as a one—off to support nhs staff, three days after the uk went into lockdown for the first time. so those are the images from back in march. which seems like a very long time ago. mind you, time is all kind ofa time ago. mind you, time is all kind of a bit warped, i think at the moment. 11 minutes past six. let's talk to carol, find out what is happening. happy new year. i haven't had a chance to say that to you. thank you, naga. happy new year to you and charlie as well. and you if it is the first time you're seeing us it is the first time you're seeing us since then. we have a lot of weather today. we start with met office weather warnings for today, tonight and tomorrow for ice and for snow. we will not all see some snow

dominic hughes reports.oad to recovery, physically and emotionally. a front line health care worker, he fell ill with covid—19 in october, last year. notjust him, but members of his closest family, as well. iwas admitted on the 18th of october and my mother was admitted in the early hours of the 20th of october, my sister was admitted to antrim hospital because the other side was very busy and she was admitted to antrim hospital the afternoon of the 20th of october and i was in on the evening of the 20th of october. jonathan ended up in intensive care and then on the same respiratory ward on which he worked, in the same hospital as his mother martina, he was able to see her and to be with her when she died. to know that mum's not coming home, it's very hard. mum was the link. she was always here and it's a very, very lonely house. a very lonely house, and that loneliness and that emptiness is there 2a hours a day, it never leaves you. jonathan's story is one of 100,000, as confirmed by the latest figures fro

hospital than during that first peak of the virus back in the spring. 0ur health correspondent dominic hugheser colleagues, this is been some of the toughest days. every member is going through so much and everywhere is understaffed, everywhere is understaffed, everywhere is understaffed, everywhere is being put through all of this we are all at risk. we are all coming into work and our families and it is all for the patients. the pressure is not so great there is a dangers that this could become covid—19 only sites. some nonurgent routine operations of already been cancelled, including some cancer treatments. this virus is spread far beyond london in the southeast. services right across the country are not being stretched as far as the limit and beyond. there are hospitals right on the brink, some of them are over that now and we just have to hope that the hole and a justice of the brink of the same time, otherwise you will not be able to cope. over that look like ? there would be patients on trolleys and cordless, very distressed people patients, relatives and staff. there are no 50% more c

we'll have more on that in a moment, but first our health correspondent dominic hughes reports on then 60 new venues that have opened up today, run by local pharmacies. it's an important way to get the vaccine to communities that are especially vulnerable to covid—i9 and sometimes hard to reach. is there any other way of tackling this pandemic than the vaccine? i don't see any other way. that is the most sensible thing for each and every one of us to do. that is what i personally believe. i have a role to play. if we can come together and play this role, i am definitely certain we will eventually overcome this challenge. but problems with the supply of the vaccine remain a challenge, leaving those trying to deliver it exasperated. it is frustrating. we have spent a lot of time and effort setting up centres. there are 15 across sheffield. gp practices are working in partnership to make sure it's ready to go. now we can deliver 700 to 800 vaccines a day, but the supply to us is really limited. we may face a whole week of not being able to give any vaccines next week. the health secretar

dominic hughes reports. rising to one in 30 in london. that means some tough weeks ahead for the health service. this position is the most serious we have been in so far in this pandemic. we are now seeing the number of patients in hospital 40% higher than the cases at the peak in march and april, and we know the cases in the community are still rising. that means that we expect to see further admissions to hospital and we expect to see further deaths. we are in a better position than we were in march, april. people have had a lot of experience in treating coronavirus over the last year and we have got extra data from clinical trials over what the right treatments are to give to individuals. better treatments for the very ill and a vaccine. the government's target is to vaccinate an estimated 13 million people by the middle of february — that works out at around 2 million people per week. they come from four priority groups — care home residents and workers, then people over 80 and front—line health and soci

dominic hughes, bbc news. travellers arriving in england to present proof of a negative coronavirus test result, have been delayed. the restrictions, which apply to passengers arriving by boat, train or plane, were due to come into force tomorrow morning but have been pushed back to monday. transport secretary, grant shapps, says the delay will give international arrivals time to prepare. people who've had covid—19 are protected from getting it again for at least five months, that's according to new research by public health england. the study says past infection gives people 83 per cent immunity compared with those who have not had coronavirus, however, those with immunity may still be able carry the virus and transmit it to others. donald trump has become the first us president to be impeached twice. he's been charged with incitement of insurrection over last week's assault on congress by his supporters. our us correspondent barbara plett usher has the story. the resolution is adopted without objection and t

here's our health correspondent dominic hughes.es, the number of places where the covid—i9 vaccine can be delivered are growing. the latest new venues coming online today include a mosque in birmingham and a cinema in aylesbury. but problems with the supply of the vaccine remain a challenge, leading to some frustration for those trying to deliver it. it is frustrating. you know, we've spent a lot of time and effort setting up centres — there's 15 across sheffield — gp practices working in partnership to make sure it's ready to go. now we can deliver, you know, 700, 800 vaccines a day, but the supply to us is really limited. we may face a whole week of not being able to give any vaccines next week. there are some tough targets to hit for the roll—out of the vaccine. by mid—february, care—home residents, the over—705, front line health and care staff and the extremely clinically vulnerable should have had their firstjab. by the end of april, vaccine should have reached all those over 50 and young people with underlying health conditi

that report was from our health editor hugh pym, camera journalist harriet bradshaw and producer dominicravel and weather where you are. good morning. bbc london and bbc south east today are joining forces at breakfast to keep you up to date with the latest on the coronavirus in our area. the police are appealing for information after a teenage boy died after he was stabbed, in islington in north london. officers were called to holland walk at about half past five yesterday evening. despite efforts from paramedics and air ambulance staff to save him, he was pronounced dead at the scene. his next of kin have been told. with hospitals in kent under huge pressure, a local charity has opened its doors to end—of—life patients with covid—19. hospice in the weald has made 1a beds available for those dying with the virus to help reduce the number of patients being transferred across the country to other hospitals. the charity says it hopes it will mean more comfortable deaths for those at the end of their lives. we want to be clear that we've got capacity, we've got beds, we've got staff, and we

let's take stock of where we are with our health correspondent, dominic hughes.positivity in terms of the figures coming out of some of these trials now. , ., ., ., ., ., " now. yes, good afternoon. ithink that is right- _ now. yes, good afternoon. ithink that is right. i— now. yes, good afternoon. ithink that is right. i think _ now. yes, good afternoon. ithink that is right. i think we _ now. yes, good afternoon. ithink that is right. i think we are - now. yes, good afternoon. ithink that is right. i think we are now i that is right. i think we are now looking at a growing arsenal of vaccines that are all targeting the coronavirus. we heard within the last hour or so about the vaccine developed by the companyjensen, owned byjohnson &johnson, the big us pharmaceutical company. we know that the clinical evidence for that vaccine has come in. it has got a global effectiveness figure, if you like... it was a very big trial involved in that vaccine. a4,000 people in eight different countries, split over three different continents. the global effectiveness figure for